Midnight Shadows
by Jane of Volterra
Summary: Lightning flashed across the sky, momentarily lighting up the room, but it was too late to scream when she saw what was coming for her when the door creaked open.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

She watched as the rain beat harshly against the roof, and the wind shook the windowpanes to almost breaking point, screaming through the cracks in the wall. Lightning flashed across the sky, momentarily lighting up the room throwing shadows across her face, but it was too late to scream when she saw what was coming for her when the door creaked open.

May the 2nd, 1864 started exactly the same as every other day for Jane.

Waking up to the not-so-appealing smell of slightly rancid bacon and overcooked eggs, she opened her eyes and examined the ceiling of her small bedroom, which she shared with two other girls, Mary and Charlotte. Sighing, she got up as Mary opened the window to rid the room of its usual dusty odour. She shook Charlotte gently, but as usual she was taken over by deep slumber. It took both girls five minutes to rouse her from sleep. Grumbling, Charlotte got up and skipped down to breakfast with the other girls. Jane never looked forward to Sundays. It was fry up morning, supposedly the best morning of the week, but everyone knew better than to think that the orphanage bought fresh food. On Friday nights they all saw the cook collect the fly covered food from the back doorstep. The only chance of a decent meal was school lunches, but even those were to be desired. Jane thought about her life so far as she stood in line to receive her food. Most of the children avoided her here, except for Mary, Charlotte and her brother, Alec. But Alec lived with the boys on the other side of the house, so she only got to see him on weekends and during meals.

Jane had been lived here since she was eight years old. Her mother did not survive the twin birth, so they lived with their father. Their father went to war in 1860. He never returned. Jane and Alec loved their father dearly, only the country was in desperate need of soldiers, and it was civic duty to fight for their country. He promised them he would come back for them, but on the last day, his base was bombed. No one survived. When this news returned home, Jane and Alec were dragged to the orphanage. They were the lucky ones.

Every time the children walked on the street, the homeless begged and pleaded for money, but Jane never had any money. She was, in some ways grateful to be taken in, to be supported…. However loosely that definition applied.

After finishing her meal, Jane retired to her room to escape the glares of her peers. Mary and Charlotte had detention, so she had to wait until 10:30 to even have a hope of having a good day. As she sat on her bed, reading, she glanced outside. A storm was coming.


	2. Chapter 2

Jane was lying outside the orphanage watching the clouds roll in. As she sat up, she was met with a handful of mud in the face. Scowling, she looked around, trying to find the culprit, and saw that everybody was acting innocent. Perhaps a little too innocent. At that moment, Mary and Charlotte skipped over.

"Hello Jane, guess what we had to do?" asked Mary.

"What?" Jane asked, with ice in her tone.

"We had to clean out the airing cupboard, and you'll never guess what we found! Look!" Charlotte thrust a dusty and crumpled five-dollar bill. "We got it out of Saskia's pocket! And I think of another good use for that mud on your face."

Jane growled at this, but then asked "What?"

"Follow Charlotte."

The three girls crept upstairs. They weren't allowed inside on Sundays unless they had mass or it was raining. They had plotted revenge on Saskia, the schools biggest bully, who hated Jane and her friends. All the teachers loved Saskia and her cronies. They never got detentions, and they were always allowed to do whatever they wanted, this included spending their own money. Usually the orphans had to give all their money to the orphanage fund, but everyone knew that the teachers used this money to buy cigarettes. Jane, Mary and Charlotte never had any money because the teachers always picked them. But now they would get their revenge on Saskia. They entered Saskia's room. Charlotte motioned to Jane to wipe her muddy hands in Saskia's bed. Giggling, Jane did it, and they all fled the scene of the crime.


	3. This story needs a facelift, any ideas?

Hey Readers!!

I have decided to re-write this story. I have come to a MASSIVE writers block of about three months, so I decided to start over. I'll try to post the new chapters A.S.A.P but they will not be written under the title of midnight shadows (probably). I'm going to start from scratch instead of replacing content. In the meantime, keep reviewing and let me know if you rate it or hate it!!! Thank you so much to my 4 reviewers – by the way, thanks for letting me know what you think about the story!!!

Jane xx


	4. In the meantime, have a taster!

"When you're hurt and scared for so long, the fear and pain

turn to hate and the hate starts to change the world."

_Allessa Gillespie, Silent Hill 2006_

The candle flickered shadows against the walls, frightening but alluring all at once. Jane's footsteps echoed softly against the hardwood floors, nearly tripping at least twice against her long nightgown, as she crept down the hall. Walking down the stairs, the strong wind blew through the cracks in the windowpanes, blowing her hair around her face and obscuring her vision. Thunder cracked and lightning illuminated the room for a few seconds, and that was when she saw the bright, red eyes staring right at her from the bottom of the stairs. Jane turned around to run, but by the time she looked back, it was gone.


End file.
